SIMI VALLEY : Former L.A. Mayoral Candidate Seeks Post
A computer operator who ran for mayor of Los Angeles in the 1993 election has announced his candidacy for the Simi Valley City Council.
Joseph R. Vesalga, 39, who was defeated as a write-in candidate in the Los Angeles race, said he is running for the Simi council to help preserve the city’s peaceful, suburban lifestyle.
“For the most part this is a well-run community,” Vesalga said. “But the streets are starting to look rundown, like the San Fernando Valley, and we need to get more police out in the community.”
Vesalga serves on the board of Neighborhood Council No. 3 and is an alternate to the Ventura County Arts Advisory Board.
The City Council seats held by Sandi Webb and Judy Mikels are up for election in November. Webb has said she plans to seek reelection but has not formally announced her candidacy. Mikels gave up her seat to run for the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.
Vesalga is the third Simi Valley resident to announce candidacy for the November race.
Other candidates are Debi Schultze, 37, a mortgage loan processor and member of the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, and Dean F. Kunicki, 49, president of a Thousand Oaks-based company that helps businesses establish self-insured health plans, and also serves on the Simi Valley Planning Commission.
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